A case before the state Supreme Court about public officials using private email accounts exposes, again, the shortcomings of Vermont laws that are supposed to ensure government transparency.

The issue in question has to do with whether Vermont’s public records act covers private email accounts used by state employees to conduct official business. A February ruling by Superior Court Judge Robert Mello limits the reach of the law to government accounts.

As the Free Press reported, “If the Legislature wanted to apply transparency laws to private accounts, Mello reasoned, the law would have included specific rules about conducting those types of searches.”

The ruling interprets the law in a way that runs counter to state policy. The Secretary of State’s Office advises that records of state business are subject to open government laws even if conducted on private platforms.

Lawmakers need not wait for the final word from the courts to begin clearing up ambiguities in the law that could be interpreted to reduce the public’s right to scrutinize the dealings of public officials.

Brady Toensing, who filed the lawsuit after being denied a public records request by the state Attorney General’s Office, appealed Mello’s decision.

In turning to the courts to reverse the attorney general’s decision, Toensing told the Free Press: “The chief law enforcement officer of our state has now said to every government official in the state, if you want to escape and avoid your obligations under Vermont’s public records law, go set up a Hotmail account and conduct your business on that.”

In short, if the ruling stands without a legislative remedy, public officials could evade public scrutiny simply by staying clear of their state email accounts.

In this, even Mello agrees. In his opinion the judge wrote: “[…] the idea that state officials and employees can avoid valid public records requests merely by conducting official work-related communications on private email and text messaging accounts is a serious and, frankly, disturbing concern.”

The judge wrote, citing a California precedent, “Through its decision today, the court does not seek to diminish that concern, but only to point out that it ‘is a matter for the Legislature, not the courts, to decide.’”

The task before the Legislature is clear. Lawmakers must explicitly close a loophole in the public records act that allows the people’s business to be hidden away. The matter becomes more urgent should the high court declare official business conducted via private email exempt from the public records act.

Contact Engagement Editor Aki Soga at asoga@freepressmedia.com. Join the conversation online at BurlingtonFreePress.com or send a letter to the editor to letters@freepressmedia.com.